Geology, New Mexico
40 locations. View on the interactive map
- Aden Crater — Geology · Doña Ana County, NM
Small basalt shield volcano and collapse crater on the west side of the Aden Lava Flow Wilderness (BLM), part of the Potrillo volcanic field ~25 miles southw…
- Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness — Geology · San Juan County, NM
BLM wilderness (~7,200 acres) of bentonite badlands, hoodoos, petrified wood, and Late Cretaceous fossil-bearing strata in the San Juan Basin south of the be…
- Angel Peak Scenic Area — Geology · San Juan County, NM
BLM scenic area south of Bloomfield where Angel Peak (~7,000 ft) rises above the eroded Kutz Canyon badlands of the San Juan Basin. Paved US-550 access to gr…
- Bandera Crater Ice Cave — Geology · Cibola County, NM
Privately operated but long-open public attraction at the edge of El Malpais: hike a trail into the ~10,000-year-old Bandera cinder cone and descend into a l…
- Big Tubes Area — Geology · Cibola County, NM
NPS day-use trailhead on El Malpais National Monument’s Bandera lava flow: cairned figure-8 route (~2 mi) across rough ‘a‘ā to lava bridges, collapsed tubes,…
- Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness — Geology · San Juan County, NM
BLM wilderness of eroded Cretaceous–Paleogene badlands — hoodoos, petrified logs, clinker, and candy-striped shales in a pathless desert moonscape south of F…
- Burro Peak — Geology · Grant County, NM
High summit of the Big Burro Mountains in southwestern Grant County, a classic Basin-and-Range desert-mountain massif of metamorphic and igneous rock rising …
- Cabezon Peak — Geology · Sandoval County, NM
Iconic ~7,785 ft basalt volcanic plug—the largest of the Rio Puerco necks—rising more than 1,100 ft above the valley floor northwest of Albuquerque. Classic …
- Capulin Volcano National Monument — Geology · Union County, NM
Nearly symmetrical cinder cone (~60,000 years old) in the Raton-Clayton volcanic field of the high plains. A paved spiral road climbs to the rim; short trail…
- Cerrillos Hills State Park — Geology · Santa Fe County, NM
Day-use state park on the Turquoise Trail (NM-14) between Santa Fe and Madrid protecting the Cerrillos Hills—source of turquoise and other minerals worked si…
- Cerro Pedernal — Geology · Rio Arriba County, NM
Flat-topped volcanic landmark of the northern Jemez country, famous as Georgia O’Keeffe’s recurring mountain and named for the Pedernal Chert once quarried f…
- Chino Mine Vista Point (Santa Rita) — Geology · Grant County, NM
Roadside overlook of the Chino open-pit copper mine — also called Santa Rita del Cobre — one of the oldest copper districts in the United States and a textbo…
- Clayton Lake State Park — Geology · Union County, NM
Northeastern New Mexico state park best known for a major Early Cretaceous dinosaur trackway exposed on the dam spillway—hundreds of ornithopod and theropod …
- Cookes Peak — Geology · Luna County, NM
Prominent 8,400-ft granite peak of the Cookes Range Wilderness Study Area north of Deming—a landmark of the southern New Mexico desert skyline and a strenuou…
- El Calderon Area — Geology · Cibola County, NM
NPS day-use trailhead on NM 53 in El Malpais National Monument sampling the monument’s volcanic suite: lava-tube entrances (including Bat Cave), the El Calde…
- Embudo Canyon Trailhead — Geology · Bernalillo County, NM
Albuquerque Open Space / Sandia Mountain front trailhead at Embudo Canyon where Precambrian Sandia granite and the mountain escarpment meet the high desert p…
- Hunts Hole — Geology · Doña Ana County, NM
Volcanic maar crater in the Potrillo Volcanic Field of Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument, about two miles south of better-known Kilbourne Hole. …
- Kilbourne Hole — Geology · Doña Ana County, NM
National Natural Landmark (1975) maar crater—an explosive volcanic pit with little cone-building—set in the Chihuahuan Desert basin between the Potrillo Moun…
- La Ventana Natural Arch — Geology · Cibola County, NM
Largest accessible natural arch in New Mexico, carved in Zuni Sandstone on the east edge of El Malpais National Monument. A short paved parking pullout and 0…
- Lava Falls (El Malpais National Monument) — Geology · Cibola County, NM
Cairned one-mile loop across the young McCartys lava flow in El Malpais National Monument — ropy pāhoehoe, ‘a‘ā, squeeze-ups, pressure ridges, and a short sp…
- Little Black Peak — Geology · Lincoln County, NM
Young basaltic vent that fed the Carrizozo lava flow (Valley of Fires malpaís)—one of the youngest and longest young basalt flows in the continental U.S. BLM…
- Mount Taylor — Geology · Cibola County, NM
Tsoodził — Mount Taylor — is a ~11,300 ft composite stratovolcano and one of the four sacred mountains of the Navajo Nation, rising above the Grants uranium …
- Ojito Wilderness — Geology · Sandoval County, NM
BLM wilderness of ~11,800 acres southwest of San Ysidro: steep mesas, box canyons, multicolored sandstone, and hoodoos of the southeastern San Juan Basin. Sh…
- Prehistoric Trackways National Monument — Geology · Doña Ana County, NM
BLM national monument in the Robledo Mountains north of Las Cruces protecting Paleozoic fossil footprint megatrackways—tracks of early reptiles, insects, and…
- Pyramid Rock (Red Rock Park) — Geology · McKinley County, NM
Signature red sandstone summit and moderate ~3–3.4 mile round-trip trail inside Gallup’s Red Rock Park, climbing through Mesozoic cliff country to Pyramid Ro…
- Rockhound State Park — Geology · Luna County, NM
First U.S. state park to allow personal rock collecting—up to 15 lb per visitor of quartz, jasper, geodes, thunder eggs, and other minerals from Tertiary vol…
- Sandia Man Cave — Geology · Sandoval County, NM
USFS-managed limestone cave high on the Las Huertas Canyon cliffs of the northern Sandia Mountains. A short, steep 0.47-mile trail leads to concrete and meta…
- Sandstone Bluffs Overlook — Geology · Cibola County, NM
Signed NPS overlook in El Malpais National Monument where Jurassic Zuni Sandstone cliffs drop to a black basalt lava sea. Sweeping views of McCartys and othe…
- Ship Rock — Geology · San Juan County, NM
Iconic volcanic neck (Tsé Bitʼaʼí, “rock with wings”) rising ~1,500+ ft above the Navajo Nation high desert south of Shiprock, NM—one of the Southwest’s most…
- Signal Peak Trailhead — Geology · Grant County, NM
USFS trailhead on NM 15 for Signal Peak Trail #742 in the Pinos Altos Mountains north of Silver City—a steep mixed-conifer climb to a historic fire lookout (…
- Soda Dam — Geology · Sandoval County, NM
Dramatic travertine dam built by mineral-rich hot springs across the Jemez River beside NM 4 just north of Jemez Springs. The white-to-cream calcium-carbonat…
- South Baldy — Geology · Socorro County, NM
High summit of the Magdalena Mountains south of Socorro, a classic central-New Mexico peak destination with ridge geology and sky-island forest. Geology/summ…
- South Sandia Peak — Geology · Bernalillo County, NM
Southern high point of the Sandia Mountains (approx. 9,782 ft) on Cibola National Forest, formed of Precambrian Sandia granite and flanking Paleozoic strata …
- Three Gun Springs Trailhead — Geology · Bernalillo County, NM
USFS Cibola National Forest trailhead (Three Gun Spring / Tres Pistolas Trail 194) in the Carnuel–Monticello foothills of the Sandia Mountains. The approach …
- Three Sisters NM — Geology · Grant County, NM
Trio of isolated summits in southwestern Grant County rising above the desert grassland and piñon-juniper of the Burro Mountains foothill country. The cluste…
- Tortugas Mountain — Geology · Doña Ana County, NM
Prominent isolated volcanic/andesite peak (“A Mountain”) on the east edge of Las Cruces with public BLM trail network, summit cross, and city-to-desert views…
- Truchas Peak — Geology · Rio Arriba County, NM
High summit of the Truchas Peaks massif in the Pecos Wilderness—classic southern Sangre de Cristo geology and alpine ridge walking above the Pecos and Trucha…
- Valles Caldera National Preserve — Geology · Sandoval County, NM
NPS national preserve protecting a ~13–14 mile-wide volcanic caldera formed about 1.2 million years ago in the Jemez Mountains. Huge mountain meadows (Valle …
- Valley of Fires Recreation Area — Geology · Lincoln County, NM
BLM recreation area on the edge of the Carrizozo Malpais—one of the youngest major lava flows in the continental U.S., a black basalt river frozen across the…
- Vulcan Volcano (Volcanoes Day Use Area) — Geology · Bernalillo County, NM
Largest of the three southern cones (JA, Black, Vulcan) in Petroglyph National Monument’s free Volcanoes Day Use Area on Albuquerque’s West Mesa. Loop trails…